The Northern Governors’ Forum on
Thursday lamented the effect of the Boko Haram insurgency on the North
and pleaded with members of the violent Islamic sect to accept the
planned amnesty for them by the Federal Government.
The Chairman of the forum and Niger
State Governor, Dr. Babangida Aliyu, stated this while receiving the
report of the forum’s Committee on Reconciliation, Healing and Security,
in Abuja on Thursday.
Aliyu, who said the activities of the
insurgents had led to destruction of many lives and property, also
advised the Federal Government to complement the resolve of the forum
by taking into account, the findings and recommendations of its
committee.
“Members of the insurgent group are
called upon for immediate ceasefire; accept the offer made by the
Federal Government and come forward for dialogue and eventual submission
of arms,” the governor said.
Boko Haram Leader, Abubakar Shekau had
0n April 10, said the sect members did not need anmesty because they
believed they had done nothing wrong. He stated that it was the Federal
Government that needed pardon by the group whose activities in the past
few years had led to the loss of at least 3,000 lives and property worth
millions of naira in parts of the North.
“Surprisingly, the Nigerian government
is talking about granting us amnesty. What wrong have we done? On the
contrary, it is we that should grant you (a) pardon,” Agence France Presse had quoted him as saying in Hausa language.
But Aliyu, who said the governors were
determined to ensure that the amnesty succeeded, explained that “the
formation of the Reconciliation, Healing and Security Committee was as a
result of recurring incidence of violence and wanton destruction of
lives and property which crippled the economy of Northern states and
paralysed socio-political activities of the region.”
He therefore urged “the Federal
Government to operationalise and streamline critical components of
the (proposed) amnesty in line with conclusions of this committee
(Northern governors’ committee) towards successful and sustainable
achievement of the noble objectives of the peace process.
“This will no doubt go a long way in
evolving a robust framework for peace building and enforcement, wealth
creation, and economic regeneration in providing practicable solutions
to the security challenges.”
The chairman said it was time
Northerners began to see themselves as one because they were treated as
such in other parts of the country irrespective of their ethno-religious
backgrounds.
He also decried what he called an
increase in the fraud associated with fuel subsidy payments which,
according to him, was now a case of outright stealing with nobody
asking questions.
The forum’s chairman noted that the masses believed that governors were doing nothing over the development.
He said, “Today, we were asking a
question when reports of issues came ( at the National Economic Council
meeting); we were asking: ‘how many of you people have gone to the
filling stations and bought fuel at subsidised rates?’ Very few, where
is the subsidy going?
“There were some people discovered to
have lied and collected money in the name of subsidy. Where are they?
Today, we are told that there is more thievery in our oil sector than
before.
“The illegal bunkering and the stealing
of oil are affecting what comes to the federation account. Why because,
if you catch one thief and you do not punish him, an honest man will
think that it is better to become a thief than to be honest. We must as
individuals, as parents and administrators, stop these things. We must
punish those who have been caught.”
Giving a background of the formation of
the Northern Governors’ Forum Committee on Reconciliation, Healing and
Security, Aliyu said, “You may wish to recall that concerned about the
destruction, killings and instability in the northern states, and in
response to these challenges, the committee was set up on July 26 ,
2012 and inaugurated on August 22 in Abuja.”
Aliyu said the first step towards
peace process begins at the family level through proper upbringing of
children and adherence to moral obligations.
He added that the governors would soon
meet in Kaduna to study the recommendations contained in the report
with a view to implementing them.
In his remarks, Bauchi State Governor,
Isa Yuguda, said, “We have investigated enough, we have killed our
people enough, the entire northern Nigeria is filled with our own blood,
that of our wives, our parents and our grandparents without reason.
“We must appreciate that in the Nigerian
nation, we are talking about 400 tribes and only 20 are from the South
. The remaining are in northern Nigeria. I have about 50 tribes in
Bauchi.
He said Islam got to Southern Nigeria
first before it came to the north and pointed out that Muslims in the
South were living in peace with Christians.
“Why are they not killing themselves? he queried, saying there is a lesson those in the north must learn from the South.
Governor Ibrahim Shema of Katsina State
said, “The north is a sleeping giant. It has potential in terms of
human and material resources. Its eminent sons and daughters have
performed credibly well in the affairs of this nation for decades. There
is no excuse for the north to keep hurting itself.”
Earlier, Chairman of the Committee,
Ambassador Zakari Ibrahim, observed that the insecurity in the north had
dire consequences for the corporate existence of Nigeria.
He recalled that the committee submitted
its interim report on February 14, 2013 and requested an extension of
time to enable it to complete its assignment.
Zakari said, “The north has suffered
very serious economic, social and psychological devastation with
relationships among the people severely fractured. Specifically, the
underlying sources of insecurity in the northern states are deeply
rooted in the following:
• Economic inequality and narrowing
opportunities, conflicts and unhealthy competition among ethnic and
religious identities , ownership and access to resources (land and
territory), unequal access to political power among groups and the
feeling of lack of respect; and
• Appointments into traditional headship
positions, the deterioration in personal and inter-group relationships,
poverty, illiteracy and ignorance, widespread impunity, injustice and
disregard for the rule of law.”
Zakari said those factors were
surmountable if serious consideration was given to some of the
recommendations in the committee’s report.
He added, “Your excellencies, the people
of the north are tired of having committees formed every time a crisis
erupts, while the recommendations of reports of the committees are
hardly implemented.
“It is the collective view of the
committee members that the north must get its act together. For too
long, it has been seen by the rest of the country as lagging behind
despite its huge human and natural resources.”
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